


Lance is fucked.

by sunflakes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, THIS IS NOT PORN DESPITE WHAT THE TITLE MAY IMPLY, also laying on the floor for extended periods of time, hunk makes cookies, lance is Emotional, overwhelming gay thoughts, shiro is space dad but also suffering, this wasnt meant to go on so long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 01:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7825081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflakes/pseuds/sunflakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance is fucked.</p><p>He knows it from the first moment he steps into that blue lion because despite the veritable miracle that just transpired, all he can think about in the cockpit is Keith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lance is fucked.

**Author's Note:**

> yall my tumblr is aetherbomb.tumblr.com come klance w me

Lance is  _ fucked _ .

 

He knows it from the first moment he steps into that blue lion because despite the veritable miracle that just transpired, all he can think about in the cockpit is  _ fucking  _ Keith.

 

Well, no, not fucking Keith just - fucking as in an adjective, right? He’s not -

Lance cuts off that train of thought before it can get any further and shakes his head in disgust, placing his hands on the controls. Just the giant metal lion now, okay? No gay thoughts. Just lion. That’s all.

 

He makes it a considerable amount of time without his mind straying after that, messing around with the controls (and setting off a few alarms) before - who would have thought- Keith walks in. 

 

“What the hell are you doing here? We keep hearing weird noises from outside,” he complains, oblivious to the panic bells going off in Lance’s head. He tries to subtly wipe his palms on his pants before he turns away from the dashboard.

 

“Just gettin’ a feel for things, you know... Seeing what kind of cool gadgets I’ve got on here and, like, you know... sweet tricks...” He trails off awkwardly as Keith just looks at him, one eyebrow slightly raised.

 

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? It’s been sitting in this cavern for god knows how long, plus it’s a... giant space lion,” Keith says, running his hand along the dashboard as he walks closer. 

 

_ No, no, no, don’t come over here, _ Lance yells internally, taking an involuntary step back. 

 

“Hell yeah it’s a good idea, this thing probably hasn’t seen any action in a long time. It’s almost my duty to give it some,” he replies with false bravado, fixing a smirk on his face. 

 

“Some ‘action’?” Keith parrots his words back at him, his slightly mocking tone enhanced by his raised eyebrows.

 

_ Fuck,  _ Lance thinks as he backpedals. “You know what I mean, asshole.”

 

Keith snorts, a half-smile making its way onto his face. “Yeah okay, whatever.”

 

_ FUCK _ , Lance thinks again as that smile emblazons itself onto his brain.

 

\-------------

 

Two months later - Lance is still fucked, even more so than before. He’s essentially been  _ living _ with Keith; not in the same room, thank god, but he still sees him shirtless, sweaty, right after he wakes up in the morning with bedhead and sleepy eyes and Lance just can’t take it anymore. 

 

The first time Lance and Keith spar, Lance bolts out of the room within five minutes. He’s overwhelmed by being pinned under the intensity of Keith’s gaze, even stronger when they’re in combat. It’s like the world has shrunk down to just Keith, Lance, and the training deck, although not quite in the way Lance would want it to. But Keith just keeps looking at him and his hair is falling in his face and he’s breathing hard and Lance  _ runs _ , he has to because what else is he supposed to do? End up pinned under Keith (because let’s be real, Keith is much stronger in hand to hand combat) and try to explain away his red face and rapidly forming boner? No. So he runs.

 

Shiro finds him sulking in the depths of the castle later, straddling a chair by a small window, his head resting on the back. He silently pulls up a chair next to him and sits down, looking out the window for a while before deciding what to say.

 

“What happened this time?” 

 

Lance can hear the concern in his voice, the endless patience coupled with a hint of exasperation. He scoffs.

 

“Nothing happened. Nothing at all,” he says, the irritation clear in his voice, although for once it’s directed not at Keith, but at himself. 

 

Shiro sighs. “Lance-”

 

“It’s nothing, okay? I just panicked for a second and bolted. That’s all. It has nothing to do with Keith,” Lance snaps, regretting it as soon as the words leave his mouth. He just snapped at Shiro, the man he’s looked up to for years, aspires to be like. He looks at the floor.

 

There’s silence between them for what feels like days. Lance is just about to open his mouth to apologize when Shiro stands up.

 

“I don’t know what’s going on, Lance. Just know that whatever it is, you can talk to us about it, okay? We’re a team and even if we don’t all get along sometimes it’s our job to support each other - mine especially, as your leader. You can’t just... shut yourself off from us.” Shiro’s voice sounds tired, and Lance’s guilt deepens. “You know where I’ll be, when you want to talk.” He turns and walks away, leaving Lance to the depths of space outside his little window. 

 

It only takes about three hours for 1. Lance’s guilt to get the better of him and 2. His internal conflict to overtake his pride. He shows up at the main deck looking weighed down - quite literally, by the massive container of cookies he’d coerced Hunk into making for him as an apology offering.

Shiro turns at Lance’s entrance, and smiles at him, looking more relieved than anything that he’s up and around again. However, to Lance’s dismay, the rest of the team is also on the bridge - and they all look concerned too. Lance curses to himself and edges his way up to Shiro.

 

“Hey. Uh. Can... Can I take you up on your offer from earlier,” he mutters, not making eye contact with anyone in the room, instead choosing to keep his gaze fixed on the ground.

 

“Of course, Lance,” Shiro says warmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Come with me.” 

 

He leads Lance out of the room, leaving behind them first a tense silence and then a rapid volley of questions. It was unusual to see Lance, usually the most cheerful person on the team, so dejected, so everyone was more than a little concerned. And of course, the first person they turn to is Keith. 

 

“What did you say to him?” “What did you two do now?” “Did you fight again?”

 

“Wait wait wait!” Keith says, holding up his hands defensively. “Who says I did anything? Couldn’t he just have gotten his own ass in trouble?”

 

He’s met with silence and a dry snort from Pidge. “Even when Lance fucks something up real bad he’s never this upset. The only person who gets to him like that is you, so cough it up.”

 

Keith huffs. “I didn’t do anything, really. We were just sparring and all of a sudden he just bolted out of the room without saying anything. Didn’t even bother to pick up his stuff, so of course I had to clean up after him,” he mutters, folding his arms.

 

Hunk sighs. “You two are so.... ridiculous.” He and Pidge exchange exasperated looks.

 

“Keith, I think you should just... Try and talk to him,” Allura pipes up. Keith begins to say something but she holds up her hand. “I know he’s contrary to that but there’s obviously some kind of miscommunication and nothing is going to change if you don’t talk about it.”

 

Keith presses his lips together, knows she’s right but doesn’t want to admit it.

 

“Fine,” he acquiesces, his shoulders drooping a little. “I’ll go find him.”

 

\----------

 

Lance keeps his eyes firmly on the ground as they leave the bridge. They walk in tense silence, although it seems to Lance that it’s only tense for him. Shiro is perfectly at ease, confident and self-assured as always. Lance envies him sometimes, because despite all of his showing off, he’s still not quite sure of himself sometimes. Maybe that’s why he’s so unsettled by this... development in his feelings. He stews on this until Shiro startles him out of it.

 

“What’s that box you’ve got?” he asks easily, a ghost of a smile on his face. 

 

“Oh, it’s cookies. For you. To apologize for, uh, yelling at you,” Lance explains a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he shoves the box towards Shiro, who looks surprised. 

 

“Thank you, Lance. You really have nothing to apologize for though, you were just frustrated,” he says, taking the box. 

 

Lance shrugs. “Still.”

 

They settle back into a more comfortable silence now, and it’s only a few minutes more before they reach an open room that Shiro leads him into, sliding the door closed behind him. 

 

“Now, let’s talk,” he says, pulling up a chair and gesturing for Lance to do the same. Lance sits across from him awkwardly, not quite sure where to begin. 

 

How do you tell the leader of your crazy space-lion unit that you’re in love with one of your teammates? Someone who you’ve never shown anything but a healthy,  _ platonic _ rivalry towards, and whom likely does not return your feelings because let’s be honest, you’ve been a total dick? And if you do anything about it and it doesn’t go well, there’s only seven of you on the ship and the universe depends on you and if something screws up this delicate balance, basically everything is fucked?

 

It’s a lot to process.

 

After Lance sits there opening and closing his mouth for a few moments, Shiro takes pity on him.

 

“How have you been feeling lately?” he coaxes him gently, like he knows exactly what Lance is going to say.

 

Lance pouts a little. “Fine, I guess. Homesick. I miss my mom and my little sister and like.... having grass and stuff.”

 

Shiro smiles. “I... can’t really say I know what you mean, but I sympathize. It’s very hard to leave home, especially so unexpectedly.”

 

“And we don’t even know if we’ll make it back, you know? I never even... got to say goodbye...” Lance begins to sniffle, turning away from Shiro while he regains control of himself. 

 

“We will make it back. I promise you,” Shiro says, his voice becoming very serious. There’s a new light in his eyes now, something a little colder and more steely - something prepared to do anything to keep that promise. Lance doesn’t know if he’s comforted by that or not.

 

“How about life on the ship? Are you having any major problems with that?” Shiro reverts unsettlingly quickly to Space Dad, his face soft once more.

 

“No, it’s been pretty good... Gets a little boring sometimes, but I guess it’s better than being in battle constantly,” Lance replies, avoiding the obvious issue.

 

But of course Shiro won’t have that. “And what about you and Keith? I know you didn’t really get along at first. It seems like you two are making it work now, am I incorrect in that?”

 

_ Fuck, _ Lance thinks.  _ Here it is. _

 

“No, we’re getting along better now. It’s just that I.... I’m - fuck. Fuck. This was never supposed to happen. We were supposed to be rivals, you know? All I’ve ever wanted was to beat him and now I have so many chances to compete but we’re in such close quarters  _ all the time _ and whenever I get the chance to I just, can’t. Because he’s always looking at me and his face is just so - he’s just  _ intense _ and I panic because there’s no way he feels the same and I know I’ll just fuck it up and he keeps taking his shirt off and my heart hurts when he looks at me Shiro what the HELL do I do??” Lance gasps, finally pausing for breath and giving Shiro an opportunity to step in, placing a calming hand on Lance’s shoulder.

 

“Lance...” Shiro pauses, seeming to struggle with himself for a moment. “There’s no easy solution to this. There’s seven of us all in close quarters, and if one relationship breaks, everything goes down with it. With that said..... Listen.” He pauses, his mouth twisting slightly as if trying not to laugh. “Literally everyone knows you and Keith are in love, except you two.”

 

Lance starts to respond before fully processing what Shiro is saying. “Okay but I - I- what? Wait, what??”

 

He gapes comically, emitting faint choking noises. Shiro snorts.

 

“Yes, Lance. I think you two need to talk about it because honestly the tension is starting to become overwhelming and I don’t know how much longer Pidge can take this before they ‘lock you in a closet together just to get you to stop pining after each other’, in their words.”

 

Lance covers his face with his hands, making a faint but high-pitched whining noise. “Is it really that obvious?” 

 

Shiro smiles sympathetically, almost pityingly. 

 

“I remember feeling like this. It wasn’t quite the same, of course. I wasn’t in a space castle and expected to fly a team of lions to save the universe, while only having contact with six other people. That’s a difficult enough situation to begin with. Add feelings into the mix...” He huffs a laugh. “Well, I wouldn’t want to be in your situation.” He stands up.

 

“Talk to him, Lance. I think it may turn out better than you think it will.” With that, he walks away, humming a quiet song to himself. 

 

Lance gapes after him for a moment before sighing. “Okay, I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” He takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and lays facedown on the floor, resolving to never get up again. 

 

It was working out pretty well for a while, too, before someone kicks him gently in the side.

 

“What the literal hell are you doing.” It’s not phrased as a question so much as a statement of irritation, in a tone that could only come from Keith. Lance screams internally.

 

“I’m waiting for the sweet embrace of death, Keith, isn’t is obvious?” he responds with over-exaggerated sarcasm, craning his neck to look up at Keith.

 

_ Fuck,  _ he thinks, _ he’s so pretty. Even from this angle. It’s hard to be pretty when you can see up someone’s nose, but Keith pulls it off.  _

 

Keith makes an exasperated noise in the back of his throat. “You............ okay,” he says after a long pause. “Okay.”

 

Lance, who has since put his head back on the floor, hears some shuffling and assumes Keith has walked away. He sighs. 

 

But when he turns his head again, Keith is laying next to him, staring at the ceiling, and Lance can’t stifle a laugh.

 

“What are  _ you _ doing?” he asks, his cheek flat on the floor - which probably distorted his face into something not quite attractive, he reflects absently, but he doesn’t quite care somehow. Keith has already seen him in the worst of situations, it’s not like the floor is going to make anything worse.

 

Keith stares at him for a second, stares at him with those _ eyes _ , Jesus, Lance can never tell what’s happening in them because aren’t eyes supposed to be the windows to the soul? Why are Keith’s windows closed? Lance almost reaches out to try to just see past that wall before he’s brought back to reality by Keith’s voice.

 

“I’m.... waiting for the ‘sweet embrace of death’ too, I guess?” he says hesitantly, the corners of his mouth slightly turned down. Lance laughs tiredly.

 

“Okay, make fun of me. Why are you really laying on this dirty floor with me of all people?” he asks, because despite what Shiro said, he still could never really believe that Keith would return his feelings. 

 

Keith is silent for a while before responding. “I think we should talk. About training today. And, other stuff.”

 

Lance feels a prickle of nervousness at the ‘other stuff’ part. Does he know? Is he disgusted? What is he going to do? But instead he pushes down all of those questions and swallows. “Okay, let’s talk. The reason I ran out on training today wasn’t because of anything you did. It’s just something I need to deal with.”

 

Keith sighs. “Okay, well even if that’s true, you’ve been acting... odd... around me. You’re never as on edge around anyone else, you never look so... blank with the rest of them. It’s like some part of you dies when you’re around me and I -” He struggles with words for a moment, before settling on something. “I don’t want that. I know you think we’re rivals or something, but if this is what it’s doing to you, it’s going to ruin our cohesiveness as a unit and it’s ruining you, Lance. You seem unhappy with anything to do with me and I hate that, I don’t want you to be hurt because of me so if there’s something I’m doing wrong just  _ tell me _ ,” he finishes, a tinge of desperation seeping into his voice.

 

The sudden rush of words seems to dissipate immediately into the air, leaving an empty silence between them. Lance freezes up - how the hell is he supposed to explain himself without revealing everything? How is he supposed to say that the only thing Keith’s doing wrong is not holding his hand, not kissing him good morning and good night, not letting him touch his face or that stupid mullet?

 

They speak at the same time. “Listen-” “I can’t-” Their eyes meet, and Keith nods slightly, motioning that Lance should go ahead. He takes a deep breath.

 

“You- you’re not doing anything wrong. At all. You’re doing too many things right, is the problem. You’re fighting too well and speaking too well and flying too well and  _ existing _ too well and you always have and it’s not fair, you know? It’s not fair that you’re so pretty and stupid and oblivious and you made me fall in love with you somewhere along this, it’s not fair because we’re supposed to be saving the universe and I can’t have these feelings because there’s only seven of us on this ship for god knows how long and it’s not fair because I ruined my own chances being a dick about the stupid rivalry thing. That’s what’s wrong. And you can, I don’t know, leave and never speak to me again outside of training. You can do whatever you want. I talked, which is apparently what everyone wants.”

 

Lance remains facedown on the floor, trying not to think about everything he just said. What he just admitted. What might happen. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think.

 

The silence continues for so long that Lance begins to wonder if Keith has fallen asleep, or maybe died. Oh my god, he died. Lance freaked him out so much he killed him. He has single-handedly condemned the universe by admitting to his stupid crush, holy  _ shit. _

 

He’s just about to start panicking when suddenly there’s a hand on his shoulder. “Lance...”

 

He finally looks up to see Keith staring at him with a strange expression on his face. He looks... he looks like he’s found something that he’s been searching for forever, that bittersweet feeling of losing one thing while gaining another. And then that look is getting closer and Lance catches a glimpse of something - something - in Keith’s eyes before they close and their lips are pressed together and Lance doesn’t quite register what’s happening for a moment, until Keith’s hand is on his face and - oh. Oh. 

 

Lance leans into it, tilting his head a little and grabbing a fistful of Keith’s shirt because they’re both still laying on the floor and he wants him  _ closer _ , this is everything he’s wanted for months and this can’t actually be happening, can it? The realization jolts him and he pulls back just enough to separate their lips, unwilling to move any further. 

 

Keith licks his lips, slightly flushed. “Sorry,” he murmurs, “I just. I’ve wanted to do that for a while.” There’s a small smirk on his face as he rubs his thumb along Lance’s cheekbone before dropping it to the floor. 

 

_ Fuck?????? _ Lance thinks, still kind of gaping at Keith. His brain is making a sort of staticky buzzing noise that makes it impossible to form any kind of coherent thought, and apparently it’s starting to worry Keith because he withdraws more, his eyebrows knitting together. 

 

“Lance? Are you… was that okay? Are you okay?” A note of panic creeps into his voice, clearing the static from Lance’s head. 

 

“No, yes, yeah, that was - I’m - fuck,” Lance breathes, putting his head back on the floor. “This is not how I wanted this to go.”

 

“But… you did want this to go? This is what you wanted?” Keith asks softly, tentatively putting his hand back on Lance’s shoulder.

 

Lance snorts. “Are you kidding me? Of course it is. I don’t know how I possibly thought I could hide it from anyone, because looking back how much more obvious could I get?” He laughs ruefully and props himself up on his elbow, facing Keith. “But I guess… I guess that’s not really a problem, at least for us,” he says, a small smile forming on his face. “So…. what Shiro said was true, then? You like me too?”

 

Keith blanches. “What did Shiro say?”

 

“Nuh uh, I asked the question first,” Lance says indignantly, pointing an insistent finger in Keith’s face. “You like me back, yes or no?”

 

Keith averts his eyes, blushing. “I mean I guess if you’re going to make me say it explicitly…. Yes. I do. I do like you and I have for a while.” His eyes flicker up to meet Lance’s for an instant before returning to the floor.

 

“Ha! Ha! You like me too!” Lance crows joyfully. He waves his finger in Keith’s face, his previous melancholy evaporated and replaced with a kind of unrestrainable energy.

 

Keith’s eyes widen, then narrow as he pushes himself up to hit Lance’s hand away. “Hey! You were the one who was laying on the floor moping and then went into this whole rant about how you fell in love with me! You can’t ‘ha’ me!” 

 

Lance’s teasing abruptly stops as he remembers everything he let go in that little speech of his. “Oh. Uh. Could we possibly forget…. about what I said there… I was emotionally compromised,” he complains, as Keith rolls his eyes. 

 

“Whatever, we can talk about that later. But now you have to tell me what Shiro said to you,” Keith demands, poking his finger into Lance’s chest.

 

Looking overly offended, Lance swats Keith’s finger away. “All he basically said was that everyone could tell we were ‘in love’, direct quote, and that Pidge was going to lock us in a closet. That’s all.”

 

Keith looks relieved. “That’s it? Okay, cool.” He moves to get up before Lance grabs his arm, yanking him back down. “What do you want now? Haven’t we been laying on this floor long enough?” he complains, looking down at Lance to see a worryingly mischievous expression on his face.

 

“You seemed awfully worried about what Shiro said to me…. is there something else I need to know?” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. “Stuff you’ve thought about, with us together? Things you want to do…. your fantasies,” he pretends to swoon, looking up at Keith through his lashes.

 

Keith flushes and Lance expects him to stutter out some halfhearted insult and walk away, but instead he leans in and kisses Lance deeply, pulling back with a smirk on his face. “I guess you’ll just have to find out, won’t you?”

 

And with that he gets up and walks away, leaving Lance scrambling after him, yelling something about ‘dirty tricks’ and being ‘a stupidly good kisser’. 

 

Keith just laughs and walks faster.

 

\---------------

 

“Have you guys seen either Lance or Keith?” Hunk calls as he walks by the common area. “I need someone to test this new thing I’m working on.”

 

Allura and Coran shrug, and Pidge doesn’t even look up from their laptop. Shiro turns towards the doorway.

 

“I think they might be on the training deck? Or try one of their rooms. But be careful with that,” he chuckles, grimacing a little - a sentiment Hunk seems to share.

 

“Okay, thanks,” he says, moving along down the hallway.

 

Pidge snorts. “I don’t know if it’s better or worse now that they’re dating because on one hand, no more unbearable sexual tension. But on the other, they’re all gross and couple-y all over the place. It’s disgusting.” 

 

Shiro sighs. “I suppose it’s better for Voltron as a whole that they’re getting along. But…. I kind of have to agree with you,” he says. “They’ve only been dating a couple of weeks though, they’ll grow out of it eventually.”

 

“I think it’s adorable,” Allura says, clasping her hands together. 

 

“I think you’re the only one, Princess,” Shiro replies with a laugh.

 

Hunk enters the room again, looking decidedly disgruntled.

 

“Uh oh,” Pidge snickers. “What did you see? Was there nudity?”

 

“Pidge!” Allura gasps, as Hunk shakes his head ruefully.

 

“Honestly I would have rather it be nudity. I’ve seen Lance naked. I’ve never seen him stick his tongue down someone’s throat,” he says in disgust, sitting down heavily next to Pidge.

 

Pidge makes a retching noise and Allura looks scandalized, while Shiro keeps his face in a carefully neutral expression. 

 

“I mean, I guess they looked happy,” Hunk continues. “Keith looked a little squished because Lance basically jumped on top of him, but.” He shakes his head. “Whatever. I’m just happy for them and I’ll do my best to stay as far from it as I possibly can.”

 

Noises of agreement resonate through the group as the door slides open, revealing Keith and Lance, holding hands and looking embarrassed.

 

Pidge pinches the bridge of their nose, muttering something about ‘never getting anything done around here’ before returning to their work.

 

“Hey, Hunk, sorry you-” Lance starts, before Hunk holds a hand up towards him, his face covered by the other.

 

“I can’t even look at you right now, just leave the room before I throw up from having to relive that,” he says.

 

Lance looks offended. “Dude, chill, it was just a kiss - okay maybe a little tongue and groping but-”

 

He’s interrupted again by exclamations from the others in the room and Pidge putting their hands over their ears and going “lalalalalalalalala” to try and be spared from the gory details.

 

“Fine, fine, we’ll leave,” Lance mutters, going back into the hallway. “Maybe someone out here will appreciate us.”

 

Keith smiles at him. “I’ll appreciate you,” he says, squeezing his hand. Lance smirks. 

 

“You better, babe,” he replies as he presses Keith against the wall, kissing him again. 

 

Hunk finds them like that fifteen minutes later, still making out, and vows to never leave his room again. 

**Author's Note:**

> yall my tumblr is aetherbomb.tumblr.com come klance w me


End file.
